Welcome to the Cognitive Overload jam.

 This jam is for those who are:

• Tired of modern video games holding their hand, forcing them through extended tutorials (or devs tired of building said tutorials (i.e. me))
• Interested in utilizing complex user interface designs, obscure iconography, or mysterious and important gameplay mechanics.
• Nostalgic for games that necessitated a read of the manual, keyboard overlays, reference sheets, and paper maps.
• Not nostalgic for the above, but interested for reasons of their own.
• Breathers of air and drinkers of water.

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 The goal is to make a video game that induces some level of cognitive overload in the player. 

 Forms which increase cognitive load:

• Non-standard control schemes
• Inconsistent control schemes between modes
• Complex menu systems
• Unusual icons
• Lack of tutorials
• Unexplained game interactions
• Lack of feedback
• Too much feedback
• Reliance on out of game resources, such as manual, keyboard overlay, maps, translators
• Extremely terse text
• Extremely verbose text
• Made up languages
• Visual clutter
• Technical limitations that affect the experience, for example, the need to swap diskettes
• Combinations of above forms
• Forms not listed or that I don't know about but that you will find

Try to increase cognitive load to the point where the player is unable to grasp the full scope of the game, its workings, its commands, etc. 

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But why?

 Warning: generalizations ahead...

 Many games today lean towards a frictionless experience. Through years of iteration a standard form has evolved for control schemes, heads up displays, menus, and even gameplay. Tutorial levels, mini-maps, quest markers and bread crumbs are also expected features . These all serve to reduce cognitive load. I am not making any negative value judgement here; simplicity, ease of use all have their place, especially when making games designed for accessibility to wider audiences, or when trying to get that cash.

 So many of the games I played in the 80s on the family PC in my youth had thick, wonderfully written manuals, beautiful paper maps. And the cool technical overlays for the keyboard because there were so many commands one couldn't keep them all in working memory. Classic gridders like Might and Magic, the gold box series of AD&D games, Civilization 1, anything by Microprose. Perusing the accompanying media was part of the fun. 

 Games such as Dwarf Fortress or Nethack are  full of possibilities and an abundance of commands; careful observation, note taking, and reference materials are essential. Learn or perish - the process of learning how to play at a slower pace (could be years) can be fun in itself.

 Then there are weird games like Goblet Grotto, part parody and part homage to older games, where the UI is almost hostile to the player, rife with bizarre feedback and sounds, and containing iconography that requires consultation of a separate document to understand. It is overwhelming and inscrutable on the first contact.

 For some players, these all sound terrible and frustrating. But, I have experienced a certain joy and wonder through the process of scruting the inscrutable. I appreciate the unique texture that is added to the overall gameplay experience through increased cognitive load. I am certain there are others out there like me.

Let us bring more of these types of games into existence.

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Guidelines:

• This jam is for entertainment purposes only. There are no ratings nor is there a prize.
• There is no theme other than the stated goal of the jam. Make whatever genre of video game you want to make and throw concerns about user friendliness out the window. Make the player work for their fun. 
• You can start right now if you want to.
• Incomplete and WIP entries are fine. Spend as much time as you want.  It's ok if you don't finish your game by the end of the jam. It's also ok to keep working towards completion or to refine your game, though I suggest keeping some sort of change log and version number system.
• Non-free entries are fine. I'm not made of money and I am probably not gonna buy your game. A demo would be nice though. 
• NSFW and adult content is fine. Please clearly state if your game contains any. Adhere to itch.io's adult content rules. Properly tag your project as per itch.io's quality guidelines.
• Generative AI output is fine. Properly tag your project as using generative AI per itch.io's quality guidelines. 
• Don't be toxic. No overtly misogynistic, racist, hateful content, etc. 
  
• Don't submit unrelated games to this jam for promotion. I will be watching like a hawk, eagle, or other bird of prey which suits this metaphor.

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 Banner art by Pat.